Imagine you had an employee who would only communicate with some of your visitors.

Gather a hundred members and prospective donors in a room, and this employee would speak in an inaudible whisper to half of them. When they lean in — “What was that?” — he just whispers the same answer again. Every tenth person he just ignores. He won’t answer their questions at all. It’s like he’s not there.

You’d never put that person in a room full of patrons. But that’s exactly the kind of experience they have on your organization’s website when you publish PDFs or text-heavy images.

I want to persuade you to stop taking shortcuts when you’re publishing content.

Imagine your organization’s website as a real person — an employee — talking to your visitors. The moment they enter your building, perhaps with the intention of giving you money, the employee says:

“Welcome! Can I show you around? There are so many things you can do here — or you can go away. Have you thought about leaving to go hang out with your friends?! That’s an option, too! You don’t have to come in and give us money if you don’t want to. We have some amazing ads at some local coffee shops and bars where you can also hang out and talk with your friends.”